Developer seeks inquiry over council's handling of €35m project in Howth

A DUBLIN property developer has called on Minister for the Environment John Gormley to investigate a local authority after he was refused planning permission for a €35 million development though the authority’s website appeared to show permission had been granted.

Property developer Tom Darcy has also called on Fingal County Council manager David O’Connor to answer questions about the council’s handling of his application for the luxury housing project in Howth, Co Dublin.

The council has said there was “no question whatsoever about the procedure which was followed”.

Mr Darcy hoped to build seven exclusive houses on a site near the disused tramline in Howth, which was zoned for residential development. The three-storey luxury homes of between 5,000 and 16,000 square feet would have cost between €5 million and €12 million each at values which pertained at the time.

He applied to Fingal County Council in March 2008.

He said he had meetings with the case officer, supplied additional information and adjusted his application as requested. On June 24th he checked the application online and found the conditions under which his application would be granted were posted on the site.

However, he was told a week later permission had been refused.

He said he considered taking legal action, but appealed the case to An Bord Pleanála instead, who upheld the council’s decision.

Mr Darcy has claimed he was discriminated against because he had a previous dispute with the council.

The senior planner who overruled the case officer’s decision was the person who had dealt with his previous case, he said. His development would have resulted in 376 jobs, he claimed

“I had given people hope, I can’t employ them now,” he said.

A spokeswoman for Fingal County Council said they were “absolutely confident” there was no question whatsoever about the procedure the council followed.

She said there was a failure in the council’s computer system which led to an incomplete draft decision being unintentionally posted on the website.

“No planning decision is legally binding until a manager’s order is signed, therefore this decision was not a final decision as it had not been signed off.” She said the failure in the online planning system happened when the software to run the database was being upgraded. “As soon as the mistake was brought to our attention it was rectified,” she said.